Away From the System
by ambruary
Summary: AU So you think you know us? You think you can predict our every move? You're wrong...What happens when everything, even your family, isn't what everyone thinks? How do you survive? Who else is suffering?
1. The only way to live

I stood there with my back against the red brick wall that was the front of Owen's convenience store. It was anything but silent on this city street. Cars and taxis were whizzing by to get to wherever people go at two in the morning. My red hair slowly floated over my shoulders and into my face. I stood there and waited; they would come, eventually.

"If you're trying to mug a drunk, you should at least stand near a bar. Anyone who was drunk would be sober by the time the time they get here. You should head over to the corner of South and Hillcrest." Jay said as he crept around the street corner. His dark green hat was on his head backwards as always and his ripped jeans were fraying on the ends from being dragged on the ground all the time. He was getting so skinny from not eating in such a long time.

"Too crowded and public. Sean got caught over there, the feds are there in a second if they here of any kind of disturbance." I responded nonchalantly.

"So? He's out now and he got us almost fifty bucks. Alex and Emma are there now." He said and stood next to me.

"Why are you here? Couldn't get anything at your corner?" I joked. He always got the most money or the best item we could use to sell, no matter what, and he never got caught. He pulled out a sterling silver Rolex from his thick brown jacket and moved and it around in his hand and the light of the street light glinted off its shiny surface.

"Nothing much. This stupid watch and this worthless coat." He shifted his right arm so that I could see the pure white fur coat for a second until he hid it again in the shadows. I smirked

"You stole someone's coat and watch on a street corner and they didn't call the cops? Well aren't you the master of larceny." I said somewhat unconvinced.

"I dipped into a bar. The nice little couple left these things on their table to dance. The rich can be so giving sometimes." He said and smirked.

"You know Red It's almost three we should get the others and head down to Peterson Street. I hear they're building new apartments there, no doors yet." He said and turned around the corner as I followed. We headed down Hillcrest Boulevard and picked up Alex and Emma then to Westside to pick up Sean and Craig. The last stop we made was to get Marco.

Once we were all together we went to those new apartments; or in other words, home for the night.

So this was our family. Marco was gay and his parents threw him out. Emma left when her stepdad started beating her when he was drunk. She tried to tell her mom , but she didn't believe her. It was too much to see him practically everywhere she went. Alex couldn't handle her mom taking the abuse from her boyfriend and always going back to him no matter what. Craig also got the crap beaten out of him by his dad just like Emma was, only his dad wasn't drunk. Sean couldn't deal with his drunk, worthless, parents, and I was tired of being the parent, or that's what I told everyone anyway. As for Jay, I don't think anyone knows why he's out on the streets. He was here before the rest of us.

We all sat around the fire that we made from the left over construction equipment and tried to forget about the pain in our stomachs left over from hunger, or the accumulating dirt all over our bodies, or just how much life sucked in general.

Pretty much everyone slept in their own corners except Emma who slept in the nook of Sean's body. Jay said it wasn't good for any of us to have relationships with one another. He always said if we ever broke up, someone would end up feeling like they had to leave the group and they wouldn't last a day by themselves.

He was right of course, having this makeshift family is what kept most of us alive for this long.

"I think all the girls should become strippers. Alex brought in a lot of money when she was doing it. Imagine all the money we would have if they all did that." Jay said and tossed a stick into the fire. Alex glared at him and all the guys snickered.

"Then what would all of you guys do all?" I questioned. If he thought he would just live the good life off of my hard work he had another thing coming.

"Well, just sit back and drink beer of course." He said and gave me a look like it was the stupidest question in the world. I threw a full beer can at him and he looked at me in mock hurt.

"The full ones hurt Red and they're a waste of a good beer." He said and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey cut off the PDA, not all of us want to see that!" Alex yelled at Emma and Sean, but they continued to suck face in the far corner of the unfinished room.

"You're just mad because you'll never get to do that with anyone. I mean you've tried it with girls and guys, but still no one seems to want to you." Jay said and smirked as she glared at him again.

"Jay, stop picking on Alex. We all know you make fun of her because you're upset that she likes girls more than she likes you." I said and smirked at him.

"Just be aware of the fact that I'm the one who has you're cigarettes Red." He said and he shook my pack in his hands. My eyes bulge and I reached over to get them but he held them just out of reach.

"How they heck did you get those?" I said and continued to reach for them. He started to take one out but I grabbed it and the rest of the pack as well from his hands.

"Whatever Red." He said and sat back down in his spot next to the pile of wood.

"Stop calling me Red and maybe I'll give you one." I said and lit the one he took out. I took a long drag and scraped my wrist against the nail I found earlier.

"Stop cutting up your arms because you think your life sucks more than everyone else's" he said acidly, his light blue eyes shining from the light of the fire.

"Wow that was low for even you Jay." I could hear Craig say as I got up quickly and took my cigarettes out into the cold air outside leaving with a teary glare that I sent in Jay's way. Marco followed me and put a comforting arm over my shoulder.

"Don't worry El, he doesn't know the truth." He said as he rubbed my back. I turned around to look at him eye to eye.

"And you're not going to tell him right?" I said almost anxiously as I waited for a response. I hated how pathetic my voice sounded.

"Of course not. It's your story to tell or not to tell. I'll see you back inside. Come in soon you'll freeze out here." He said reassuringly and walked back in with his hands in his pockets.

Marco has always taken care of me, ever since I met him back in high school. When he got thrown out I knew he could stay at my house with me and my mother, so I went with him out onto the city street. We've been best friends for years now. He knows everything about me and I know all there is to know about him.

About one hour later I dropped the end of my third cigarette and went back inside. Practically everyone was already asleep, only Jay and Craig were still awake.

"What neighborhood are we hitting tomorrow?" I asked and sat down next to Craig not looking at either of them.

"Probably north county area, we haven't been there in a while." Jay said and pulled his over his eyes but didn't go to sleep.

"Yea, of course we haven't been there in a while. Rick Murray's group is in that area. He pretty much owns it. We were nearly _killed_." I emphasized the killed part to try and get into his thick skull just how dangerous that part of the city was.

"We could die any day. The knives and guns just make the few days we do live a little more interesting." I couldn't see his face but I knew he was smirking underneath his hat.

"El, don't worry about it. It will just be one day. Last time Jay was the one who started the fight anyway. He won't do that again will you?" Craig said and nudged Jay in the back.

" 'Course not." I heard him say then you could tell from the rhythm of his breathing that he had fallen asleep.

I got up from my spot close to the fire and found a few bags of dirt. I made a bed out of them and waited for sleep to come. The real reason I didn't want to go that area wasn't because of what happened last time. No, it was because that was where my mother lived.

I listened to the sounds of everyone else sleeping, and soon enough, I too fell asleep.

Tomorrow was going to be just another day in the hard life of us street kids.


	2. Life in Hell

We all got up early the next morning. I was scared to death about heading over to North County, but no one, not even Marco, seemed to notice. It took everything in me to act as normal as possible. None of them knew that my mother lived there or what she did to me, and that's the way I wanted to keep it.

We had the way we would get there and where we would all meet all worked out. We had to go in groups of two or so because a group of seven teens looked a bit suspicious, especially when all the teens were covered in grit and dirt from head to toe.

Alex and I walked down the street with our hands in our thin coat pockets and the wind slicing at our skin as it blew harshly around us.

"He cares about you, Jay does. That's why he always treats you the way he does." Alex said out of nowhere. We were walking along a deserted sidewalk on our way to downtown Toronto.

"He treats you the same way Alex. It's nothing different from his regular personality." I said without even looking at her. She had to be wrong, anyway, Jay didn't believe in anyone in our group being together.

"Yea, but I've known Jay for years. He has tons of dirt he could use to hurt me, but he only uses the weak things. They're not thought out or as hurtful as the ones he says to you." I had to scoff at that.

"If he cared about me why would he try to hurt me?" I asked and almost laughed at how pathetic this all was.

"That's just the way guys like him are. I also know he's trying to get you to tell him why you're really on the streets." She looked up and stared me straight in the eye.

"There's nothing to tell." I said and kept on staring at the pavement as we walked.

"That's a bunch of crap and you know it. You're the worst liar in the world, you know that? We all know you came from some fancy neighborhood just by looking at you. The thing we don't know is why you left. Hey! Stop!" I finally looked up at her when she started yelling.

"What!?" I asked with a hint of anger in my voice.

"You were just about to walk into that intersection that's what!" She said and pointed in front of me. I looked up and saw tons of cars speeding passed not two feet in front of where I was standing.

"Oh, thanks." I said and kept walking as the light turned red.

"What's with you?" Alex asked not taking her eyes off me.

"What do you mean?" One foot in front of the other. No eye contact.

"You're acting really weird today." Show no emotion, no sign of something being wrong. I didn't respond.

"Well whatever it is you better deal with it soon cause we're here. No more zoning off, this is a dangerous place for you to not totally be here." Alex said and I looked up to see the dark alley we were all going to meet up at. No one else was there yet.

"How long till the others get here?" I asked.

"We're here." I heard Jay's voice call out. He and Sean walked around the corner followed by everyone else.

"So what are we doing today?" asked Marco.

"None of you are doing anything. Not here that is." We all turned to see Rick Murray and his gang, if you can call a group of nerds with guns that, standing at the entrance of the alley.

"Hey psycho, you and your group of nerds gonna try and mess with us again?" Jay said and pushed Rick back.

"I seem to remember almost killing you and your group of scum last time. Don't you know when you're way over your head? I guess you must think that with one more guy you might be able to beat us. What's the puny little fag out on the streets for anyway? Mommy and Daddy don't want a homo in their picture perfect family? " He said with a smirk on his face and then spit at Marco. Jay pushed him and I could feel Craig put something cold and metallic in my hand. I looked at him terrified; it was all happening so fast. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was scared too. His eyes were wide and he kept glancing at Jay and Rick and the group of thugs behind him. Rick seemed to have given his group a signal because they all suddenly started coming at us like a pack of wolves.

I could hear gunshots and it was hard to see with all of Rick's gang coming at us with knives and even a few of them had guns. There was screaming and yelling. I could see bright red flashing light coming toward us quickly; the police were here. I heard Emma scream and I looked around desperately trying to see her. It was chaos. I could still feel the gun in my hand; still unused. I saw regular people running from the scene.

Then it all went black.

I heard unidentifiable screaming and I could faintly hear Jay yelling.

"Ellie! Ellie are you okay!?" It was the first time I ever heard him call me by my name. I almost smiled but then tasted blood in my mouth. I tried to open my eyes but it was as if they were glued shut.

Then the yelling started to fade as well, soon enough all sound was lots too. I was left in a void of black and silence.

I occasionally could open my eyes but then they would droop shut again, leaving me with only a quick glance of what was going on. I was lying on something soft but I had no idea what I was. The area near my stomach was killing me. It was searing with a pain worse than anything I had ever felt before. My hands were covered with a sticky liquid. There was occasional yelling then silence.

It seemed like days had past while I lived in the dark. I tried practically everything to get out of this hell but all my efforts resulted with nothing except for maybe a quick glace of gray instead of black.

After what seemed like months I was finally able to open my eyes, see, hear, and feel everything that was going on around me. I must have been asleep for forever, but yet I still felt so tired.

"What…what happened?" I asked my voice hoarse from lack of use. Then I saw Alex. Her face was tear stained and when she heard me she rushed over and called the others.

"Guys she's awake!" She called out and then sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Hey you okay?" She asked me and wiped a tear that had just spilled over her eyelid.

"Just a little tired. Tell me what happened being to, well, now. And where is Jay?" I said as I noticed that everyone was there except for Jay. Everyone except Emma was okay; they only had a few bruises and cut. Emma had a bandage over her arm that was still bleeding. We seemed to be in a hospital, which was weird seeing as there was no way in hell that any of us would be able to afford that.

"Well, okay then. Emma was the first one to get shot, but only on her arm. You were shot in the stomach. It was crazy out there. Everyone was getting punched and stabbed. Then the police showed up. Being that Rick lived in that area and had a right to be there the police believed him instead of us. There was also the fact that Jay started the fight, it didn't matter that he was provoked. Then Jay made a deal with the police, him for the rest of us. If he went to Jail then the rest of us, who did nothing but defend ourselves, would be set free. They agreed, and also said that if you didn't get immediate medical attention then you would die." Alex said then looked up at Craig.

"You wanna fill her in on the rest?" She asked him.

"Sure. Okay so you went to the hospital, and since you needed to be there, we figured we'd get Emma help as well. But there was no way we could afford it so we took a little trip to the storage closet. My dad was a surgeon so I know how to fix her up and she's good now. The next problem we had was how to pay for you. I decided I would use blackmail. I called up my dad told him I had proof of what he did to me, and said if he didn't pay for my friend's medical expenses, then I would show someone who could get him in a whole lot of trouble. He took the bait and paid for it all. The only thing he didn't know was all my bruises were healed by now." He said triumphantly. I couldn't help but chuckle. But there were still a few questions on my mind.

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"A little less than a week." answered Marco.

"Okay so since I'm fine we can leave tomorrow. We need to come up with a way to get Jay out of jail. "I said and stared at them seriously.

"Well, seeing as we already committed at least three other crimes, what's one more gonna do. Let's break him out." said Emma.

Emma was never the person I would have thought to suggest a plan like this, but hey she is right.

"You're talking about breaking into a federal prison. How exactly do you plan on doing this?"said Sean.

"Well, you've already been there, so you know quite a few people in there and you know what the inside of the place looks like. How hard could it be?" She said. Sean just shook his head and ran his hand through his hair.

"We have six of us, two of us are injured, and we want to break into a prison. A prison with guards, cells, barbwire fences, and let's not forget, a huge brick wall surrounding the metal building. This is going to be a piece of cake." I said sarcastically.

"Not breaking in, breaking someone out. Haven't you ever seen Shaw Shank Redemption? Jay didn't do anything so we have to break him out." Emma said.

"So we are all agreement that we are going to break into prison and then continue to live in this city, right?" asked Alex.

"Of course, there's no better place to hide." Craig said.

This is going to be interesting.


	3. Preparations

We all stood huddled around a blueprint of the jail that Jay was currently being held in. We now lived in the back of a Chinese restaurant. It was always empty except for Mondays when the trash collectors came to empty the dumpsters. So in other words, this new hideout would last us about a week, but we never did stay in one place to long.

Rick Murray was a pretty powerful kid, and he also happened to poses a certain hate for Jay Hogart. In other words, Jay was looking at a few months to a few years in jail. One member of Rick's gang had been hurt during the fight and Rick pointed the finger right at Jay. He said it was premeditated attempt at man slaughter. Yeah right, like Jay ever thought ahead about anything. Jay had a little over a week until his trial, that didn't leave us much time.

"Okay so these are all the possible ways to get into and out of the jail." Sean said as he pointed the blue and white sheet of paper. We started to make our plans to get Jay out of jail.

"One question." Craig said as he seemed to be studying the blueprint.

"What?" Sean asked as he looked up at Craig.

"Where the hell did you get this? Isn't this government property?" he asked with his eyes filled with a confused look.

"Spinner. Let's just say, it's very beneficial to have friends on both sides of the bars." Sean said with a smirk.

"Okay so we know how to get in and out of the jail…………if it were the 18th century maybe! This jail has cameras, biometric scanners, and alarms. We can't just walk in there, get Jay and walk out!" I said and rubbed my head trying to think of a new plan, until I heard what Sean had to say next.

"But like I said, I have friends on both sides of the law. I also know someone who can hook us up with ID's, uniforms and key codes to any door or alarm in the whole jail." Sean said looking very proud of himself.

"And who exactly is this mysterious 'friend' of yours that will help us?" asked Craig.

"None other than Toby Isaacs." Sean said.

"Wait, isn't he part of Rick's gang?" asked Emma.

"Yes, but I've known him for forever. I also know how what his one weakness is. The truth. He knows Jay didn't do anything wrong, he'll want to make things right."

"So how do we get these things?" asked Marco. Sean looked puzzled, I guess he didn't get that far in his _brilliant_ plan yet. It was then that I knew what I had to do.

"I get the stuff. I…..I used to live in that area I'll be able to get the stuff and get out without getting in any trouble." I really didn't want to go back there, but it had to be done.

"Okay then. Everything is planned. Let's do this" Sean said and started to fold up the blueprint, then Alex spoke.

"I've kept quiet for some time, but obviously I'm the only one who sees the big flaw in this plan." We all turned around in confusion, she continued.

"We are a bunch of teenagers who live out on the streets! We have no idea what we are doing! Even if we had a bunch of special badges or uniforms, how are _we_ supposed to break into a high security prison and get out without being caught!?" She asked.

"We have guns." Said Craig and Alex rolled her eyes.

"We've all had experience with running from the law before, and what do we have to lose? Our lives? Look around, they're not all that valuable are they? So what if something happens? All we have is each other, we're a family. So I'll be damned if I let a member of my family get put in jail because of some worthless piece of scum like Rick Murray!" said Sean.

"Just making sure you knew you we're about to commit suicide. It's good to know you've got it all planned out, put that speech on your suicide note." Alex said and went back to the far corner of the alley.

"You ready Elle?" Marco asked and put his arm over my shoulders.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I shrugged him off and walk out of dark alley, kicking an empty soup can as I went.

I sat on the green expensive looking park bench waiting for Toby to show up. It was almost ten and if he didn't show up soon I would have to leave.

"Here take it and leave." Said Toby as he sat down next to me and slid over a blue bag filled with all the things we needed to break Jay out.

"Bye." I said and put the bag on my shoulder as I walked back to the deserted alley.

As I was walking it began to rain, a slight drizzle at first, but then it began to pour down.

I had about three blocks left when I was stopped by the cops who always patrol this area at night. I was soaked from head to toe and was shivering.

"Hey kid! What are you doing here at a time like this, and in this weather? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I live nearby; I'm on my way there now." I said and put on a fake smile. I moved a wet piece of hair out of my face and looked him straight in the eye.

"Well why don't you let me give you a ride. It's dangerous out here at night, and it's going to keep raining for some time. You might get sick. Unless, you don't live nearby?" He said and he gave me a challenging smirk. I was dead, there was only one option, and it really wasn't much of one. I knew I had to let him give me a ride to _her_ house.

"Okay, I'll tell you the way."

He followed my direction until we pulled up to a small white house with dead plant on the front porch. All the lights were off, thankfully.

"This is the place? Alright then, I'll just wait until you're inside."

My heart beat faster as I moved from the car to the front door. I pulled up the plant to reveal a small silver key, thankfully she hadn't changed its position. I silently turned the golden doorknob, walked into the house, and shut the door behind me. The smell of vodka poured into my lungs through my nose and made me slightly dizzy. I had to wait until I saw the headlight of the cop car leave, then I would sneak out through the kitchen. I couldn't move or the soles of my rubber shoes would squeak on the wooden floors. All I could do was wait.

After what seemed like hours I saw him leave; I turned from my spot next to the door and headed into the kitchen. Then the lights in the living room flicked on.

I had to stop myself from jumping and I silently moved into the shadows of hallway. I could smell my mother before I saw her, the smell of alcohol was dripping off her from a mile away. I then saw her drunkenly walk into the kitchen and grab another bottle of vodka from the shelf. I shrunk further back into the darkness and held my breath with every one of her movements. My heart was pounding through my chest and I had to resist the need to cough or else I would be discovered. She finally stumbled back into the living room and practically fell onto the couch.

I wasn't going to wait any longer. I ran into the kitchen and slammed the door behind me. Then I ran. The lights were reflected on the wet grass as they flashed on from inside the house; I just kept moving.

I ran through a thin patch of woods and then onto another street. I knew my way pretty well so I didn't bother stopping to glance at the street signs. The cop who dropped me off would probably already be out looking for me so I had no time to stall. I finally reached _my_ side of town and I turned down into my new _home_, if you could call it that.

By now it had stopped raining and everyone was huddled around a small fire waiting for me to return. I walked into the center of the circle and dropped the bag in Sean's lap, or the part that wasn't covered by Emma. I then sat down next to Alex and Marco and warmed myself up with the help of the tiny flame.

"So, no complications?" Sean asked and put the bag behind him.

"Nope, everything went smoothly." I lied.

" Good." He said.

There was no reason to worry them. I just had to lay low for a while, anyway, how hard could breaking someone out from a federal prison be?


	4. Break Out

"Ellie would you lighten up on the death grip, I'm getting a bruise." Craig whispered as we walked from our stolen police car to the front gates of the prison. I loosened my grip on his shoulder just up bit and he turned around and glared at me.

"Shut up Craig they have cameras on the outside of the jail too." I whispered back and he didn't say another word. We needed to get through this with the least bit of confrontation and the maximum amount of believability.

Sean walked in front of the both of us as I held our 'prisoner'. He pressed a small white button on the side of the metal gate and a tired voice came out of a nearby speaker.

"State the authorization code and your purpose." It said. We had gotten all the information we would need from Spinner long before we even made our plan.

"34-721-0023, cocaine dealer." Said Sean, it sounded somewhat rehearsed but the guard didn't seem to notice.

"Okay, stand back." We all backed up and I kicked Craig to make him struggle and make it seem more realistic.

"You're really getting on my nerves Nash." Craig seethed through his teeth, I just kicked him again.

We walked into the dark gray building that was made of practically all cement and steel. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe with every step, I was so nerves. Sweat was about ready to pour down my face when two stood in front of us ready to guide us to where we were going to put Craig. So far so good.

"So just out of curiosity, you know in case I come across one while I'm on duty, where do we keep those accused of man slaughter?" Sean asked casually.

"Placement of criminals is on every exam that is needed to become a cop; you should know the answer to that." Said the taller of the two expressionless men. We were so dead if we didn't know where to find Jay.

"True, but I'm more than positive I failed that part of the test." Sean covered quickly, nice move.

"Come on, everyone knows it's on the second floor to the left. Anyway here we are." Said the shorter cop with choppy black hair. They both turned around to face us. We were at the end of a practically deserted hallway. Sean and I sprung into action.

"Thanks." I said and I pulled out a needle filled with every sleeping drug and sedative under the sun and stuck in the black haired cop's leg. Sean did the same to the other cop. They immediately fell to the ground.

Sean and I ripped the security tags off both of the cops and pushed them both into the cell and locked it.

"Okay Craig here, take this and go and tell the others to meet at the back door with the van." I said as I handed him one of the security tags.

We then quickly headed up to where we now new Jay would be.

"Phase one complete." Said Sean. I was too nerves to speak.

We ran up endless sets of stairs until we reached where the second floor was, we then slowed our pace and walked casually down the left side of the hall.

"There he is!" I yelled and Sean quickly looked to where I was pointing. In the nearest cell was Jay, he was sitting next to the wall the slumped over. He looked up as soon as he heard my voice. His face looked tired but when he saw us he immediately lightened up and jumped to his feet.

"Spinner told me about your plan; come on hurry up guard change is in a few minutes!" He said urgently and urged us toward him with his hand.

We both ran to him and Sean opened the door with the security tag. The gate clicked open and started to pull to the side automatically.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" All the blood drained from my face and I quickly turned around to see four cops standing behind us.

"Come on let's go!" Shouted Sean. We ran.

We ran from the cell to the stairs and down every single one as fast we could go. Bullets were whizzing past us as they were shot at us by the cops above. I didn't dare breathe the entire time.

At the very last step, right in front of our exit, I heard the worst scream I had ever heard and came from Jay. Time froze when I turned around and saw him fall to his knees. His hand was over the left side of his chest and blood was dripping through his white T-shirt. He was cringing with pain.

"Ellie help me pick him up! We have to go! Now!" Sean shouted and move to Jay's side.

"No! Go….you…you won't make it in time." He stuttered.

"We're leaving you." I said as I joined Sean at his other side. We hoisted Jay up and carried him swiftly to the van that was waiting for us right outside the door.

"What happened?" asked Emma as she opened the door and saw Jay.

"Not now. Alex, go now!" Sean yelled as he gently laid Jay down In the back of the van and we both jumped in. Alex's eyes were wide but she turned around and hit the gas. We sped off and I pulled of the fake uniform and pressed it on Jay's wound.

"We need alcohol and fresh cloth!" I shouted

"How are we going to get that?" asked Marco as he bet down beside me.

"We steal it. We just broke into a prison; a robbery can't be any harder Take the gun and go into a CVS or something. A knife would be helpful too." I said and looked up at him. His eyes were wide.

"I'm serious! Alex!" I said.

"Way ahead of you Nash." She said and stopped the van. Sean pulled Marco and Craig into the store and came out only two minutes later with what we needed.

I worked as we drove. Jay passed out long ago and Alex just kept driving. We had no idea where we were going but we were getting out of this city. I used a pocket knife to remove the bullet and some alcohol and towels to stop the bleeding. I had found the only practical use of that foul smelling liquid.

Hours seemed to pass before Alex finally stopped in a seemingly deserted area. She had stopped next to practically a graveyard for trains. There were broken, rusty trains all over the place. She pulled between these two extremely large trains in a way so that the van was pretty much invisible.

"We should all get some sleep; there is nothing we can do for him now." Sean said and gestured to Jay. Everyone agreed and got out of the van to look for a spot to sleep. Marco stopped when he noticed I wasn't moving.

"You coming Elle?" He asked.

"I think I'm going to stay here for a little while more." I said and he nodded and shut the door to van as he too left.

I breathed in deeply and leaned against the side of the Van and slowly drifted off to sleep. I woke up after what seemed minutes but was actually about two hours to see Jay stirring at my feet. I bent over to check on him and placed my hand on his forehead. He moved his hand to mine and then slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey." He said still half asleep.

"You gave us all quite a scare there." I said to him.

"You know you can't get rid of me that easily. Thanks for not leaving me behind." He said.

"Never. But it's a good thing we are all practically starved or I would've had not chance of carrying you." I said and smirked.

"Yeah." He smiled and slowly drifted back to sleep.

I knew this quiet and kind Jay wouldn't last, but it was still good to know even he had a hearts buried down inside him somewhere. It was just deep inside. Really, really, deep inside.

It didn't matter anyway though, I was falling for him. No matter what crude comment he made, or obscene gesture, I could still tell he still cared about everyone. We were a family, and nothing could ever change that.

Nothing.


	5. Ultimatum

"What the hell!?" I yelled as I crashed onto the rocky grass from the back of the plain white van.

"Oh my God, sorry Elle. I didn't know you were leaning against the door." Marco apologized as he gave me his hand to help me up.

"Well give a warning before you're going to make me fall onto a bunch of rocks, will you?" I said as I brushed myself off. Not that it did much; I only had the one pair of clothes.

"What's going on out there?" asked Jay from the van as he sat up. He cringed from a slight pain in his shoulder but quickly changed his expression; he never liked to be the vulnerable one.

"Oh hey man, nice to see you up." Said Sean as he came around the side of the Van and leaned on the open door.

"Yeah well if Ellie hadn't screamed bloody murder, I would still be asleep. What is it, like only one in the afternoon? God don't you people ever sleep?" Jay said and rolled over onto his stomach and fell back asleep. I rolled my eyes and walked away. I knew his kind attitude wouldn't last.

"Come guys let's let him sleep." Said Marco and the three of us headed away from the van.

"So what are the plans for today?" asked Alex as she walked up, Emma and Craig close behind.

"Hold on a sec….." Sean said, then he went over to the driver's side of the Van and then came back a minute later with a map in hand. It was ripped in a few places in had a few torn edges, but otherwise seemed okay and pretty recent. He opened it up and stared at it for a few minutes then said, "Well, we could head up to Bolton. It's only about fifty kilometers away, and we could stock up on food before we head out. All we have to do is follow the tracks for a while. It's a small town, no highways or anything that would expose us." He said and then looked up to see what we thought.

"Do you really think that a small town is safer for us than large city? I mean you can't exactly get lost in a place where everyone knows everyone." Craig pointed out.

"Yeah, but everyone also trusts everyone. We'd be safer with a community like that than here where everyone is part of Rick's gang." defended Sean.

"True." said Craig. Everyone agreed to Sean's plan except Jay who was still asleep.

"One question, how are we going to pay for the food?" asked Marco.

"I never said we would be buying any of it." said Sean as he smirked.

"You sure can do this?" asked Sean as I secured my extra gun under my pants leg.

"Oh come on Sean, it's not like I haven't robbed a convenience store by myself before. I'll be fine; you just have the van ready out back okay?" I said.



"Fine. Do this as quickly as possible. Ready….Go!" he said as I jumped out of the side of the Van and walked into the small corner store.

I walked in and surveyed the room. A drained teen completely focused on the videogame he was playing, a female cashier that was slowly nodding off to sleep, a middle-aged woman examining an aisle and shadowy figure in the back who didn't look any bit threatening. This was going to be so easy.

"Alright everyone relax, shut up, and do as I ask and nobody will get hurt." I yelled. The cashier's eyes popped open and she backed up against the wall. The woman dropped her purse and stated shaking. But the kid with the video game did something I didn't expect.

He flashed me look I couldn't read and traded his videogame for a gun in his pocket. He cocked it and pointed it directly at me.

"I don't think you want to be doing this." Said A voice. I started to roll my eyes, cops were so stupid sometimes, but stopped after I turned and saw who it was. Now it understood the look, it was remorse; he didn't want to be here.

Rick.

He smirked as my eyes grew wide.

"Now, I'm going to make you a deal. You can join me and help me get rid of your friends or leave as a bloody pulp." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you serious? What could you possibly give me to make me a traitor?" This guy had some nerve.

"First of you would have money, lots of it, you would never have to steal scraps again. Next, you could get revenge on your mother. Nobody believe you the last time you tried to tell them what was really going on at your house, but with me at your side they wouldn't dare write you off as a stupid kid. Lastly, you wouldn't have to pretend you have nothing. Come on, you me both know you don't belong on the streets. Upper class is where you belong." He said still smiling.

"How do know anything about my life!? How...how could you possibly think you could understand what it's like to be beat until you're unconscious practically every night and lie about it or else the beating would get worse? Or to lie to your dad every time he came back about what really happens when he is gone. Or to never be able to tell anyone the truth because you will always be afraid she will find out and find you and beat you so much that you don't wake ever again! This is my life and nothing will ever change it. Ever!" I screamed.

"Maybe, or maybe not. You'll never know until you try both paths. One of them has you walking out that door, and another has you being shot until you die on that very spot you are standing on now." He said ever so calmly.



I breathed deeply then finally spoke. "Fine, what do you want me to do?" I said.

He smirked at my response. "I don't need you just yet. You'll have to stay with your so called _friends_ until I do, but take this." He threw me a black cell phone, I caught and he continued to speak. "I'll call you when I need you."

"We're leaving town; heading up to Bolton." I said, still shaking from what I was doing.

"That's fine; I'll have someone come get you." He said

"I better go." I said and pocketed the phone. I then grabbed three loafs of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a gallon of water, then I went to leave but Rick spoke again.

"Do not betray me or you will watch each and every one of your friends be tortured to their very, very slow deaths. At least this way it will be quick for them." He said and smiled his malicious smile once again. I blinked away the tears and left. That guy was incredibly sick.

"Hey what took so long?" Jay asked when I jumped into the van and we sped off.

"Some kid wanted to play hero, I knocked him out but he'll be fine." I said.

"Oh, couldn't you come up with a good story like Rick was in there or something? I mean come on, we lead a really boring life here I need some excitement here." He said.

"Oh like barely escaping from jail and almost dying is not at all exciting?" I asked him.

"We do stuff like that every day, we need to mix things up here and there." He was right of course, we did pull heists and jail breaks every few months to keep us all alive and together, but I didn't like the thought of change.

Although, I guess I just threw a bomb into our lives with that deal with Rick didn't I? They all had no idea what was going to happen in just a short while. And truthfully neither did I.

Anything could happen.


	6. Not what I thought

"Never occurred to you get water _bottles_, did it El……….El?" said Emma as she put the half gallon of backwash on the ground and walked over to me. I was sitting in the back of the van with the doors on either side of me. My eyes were glazed over as I continued to stare at absolutely nothing.

"Hello? Earth to Ellie, anyone in there?" Emma asked as she waved he hand in front of my face.

"What?" I asked finally noticing her. I had been staring off into space. The scene at the store was playing over and over in my head.

"Nothing, you just seemed a little out there." She said to me, her eyes were set in a concerned look.

"I'm fine; I've just been a little distracted." Crap.

"Distracted about what?" Now she's curious nice move there genius.

"It's nothing really, I'm just tired." I said, hoping she'd back off.

"Oh. Well if you want to talk about it just let me now." I faked a smiled and she walked away.

The phone Rick gave me was deep in pocket. I never realized just how much a small black object could cause a person so much guilt. At first, to stop the guilt eating at me, I kept telling myself that I had yet to make up my mind on whether or not I was even going to answer it when it vibrated. The truth though, was that I had made my decision when I took the phone from his hands. There was no going back at this point.

I looked up from the weary browning grass when I heard Craig's excited voice coming from one of the broken down trains.

"Guys check this out! I found this old guitar just sitting in the back of that boxcar there. " He yelled as he came closer to the van. Marco was close behind Craig with a wide grin plastered on his face, and Alex followed him with a much less excited expression on her face, but you could see in her eyes that she was excited as well.

Craig pulled the worn leather strap over his guitar and started strumming away. Sean came up behind Emma and turned her around. He then put his hand on her waste and started dancing with her. I couldn't help but smile at them. They had nothing yet were so happy, as long as they had each other. I had to admit I was a little envious of them. Alex and Marco were sitting on the ground, laughing and talking. Craig kept playing that guitar and Sean kept twirling Emma around in circles.

"It's weird isn't it?" I jumped when I heard Jay's voice. He came from the side of the van and leaned on the edge of it with his elbows close to my knees.

"What is?" I asked slightly confused.



"It's weird that the people who supposedly live wasted lives with no meaning or purpose could have moments like these. So full of life and joy. I mean look at Cameron over there," He pointed to Sean with a shrug of his shoulder and I followed his gaze, "He's so happy right now, but usually he's just waiting for the next tragedy of difficulty to come along. Alex and Marco both have to face discrimination for being who they are, yet even they know when to let loose and have fun. Craig's always looking for the better side of a situation, so it's no wonder that he could start a night like this."

I stared at Jay; I had no idea that he thought this much. He wasn't looking at me though, he was watching them. He wasn't even a part of it in the physical sense, but you could see he was enjoying this just as much as the rest of them.

He was hitting all my soft spots. Showing me just how wonderful our life was. Wait a second…..did he know what I was going to do. How? No, there is no way Rick would have his plan screwed up, there was no way for Jay to know what I had been sucked into. I was alone and I was trapped.

We sat there for a few moments just sinking in all the happiness. Soaking it all in. Moments like this were a rarity, for us anyway.

All the sudden I felt something in my pocket. My eyes went wide and my heart stopped. I glanced at Jay to see if he could hear the cell phone vibrate in my tight jeans. He didn't even blink. My heart started pounding in my chest.

"Well, looks like I'll have to take a break from this. Nature isn't very patient." I said quickly and slid off from the back of the van. Still, Jay didn't move when I glanced back at him.

I walked away from the rest of the group and into a thin bit of woods not too far from _home. _I pulled the phone from my pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" I asked cautiously into the small black object.

"Meet the escort I have waiting for you just outside of the city. Come alone and don't try anything. I know where you are and I'll know if you do anything you're not supposed to." Rick's voice said coldly.

"It's a little difficult to get away right now." I said. My hearts was still racing in my chest.

He sighed and then spoke again, "Fine, you have until midnight to get to the meeting spot. Don't back out on me now _Eleanor_." Rick hissed and the line went dead.

I shut the phone and slowly shoved it back in my pocket. Tears were brimming on the edge of my eye lids; my breath was caught in my chest. I was sick to my stomach. I had to stop this; I couldn't go through with this. I couldn't kill my friends. They were everything to me.

I quickly composed myself and headed back to camp.



I walked back to the group and it was as if I had never left. Sean and Emma had suddenly stopped dancing.

"Well we're going to hit the sack." I could tell by the smiles both of them were hiding, not very well I might add, neither of them were going to get much sleep. I walked over to Jay and he was smirking as he watched them walk off.

"Yeah me too," He said still smirking and then turned to me, he became emotionless yet his features and tone were still warm, "Don't tell anyone what I said tonight. No one can find out that I have a sensitive side."

"You have many sides that we don't know about, don't you?" I asked lightly.

"Yeah." His expression hadn't changed but his tone went flat.

They all headed to separate edges of camp to sleep for the night, while I snuck away to the place I would meet Rick. Suddenly, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and looked around, the small bit of woods that I was in was dead silent. I took another small step forward, still nothing. I relaxed and continued forward. All the sudden there was something over my nose and mouth. My vision went blurry and then I could see nothing at all.


	7. Not so Uncoticed

"Jay? What the hell!?" Her eyes were wide at first when they first opened, in shock, but she quickly hid that with anger when realization hit. I wondered if she would ever let anyone into her head…….

_24 hours earlier…….._

I watched Ellie sleep as I leaned against the van. It was warm night and she was bundled up with a thick jacket, but yet she still shook slightly. Stupid skinny girl.

I usually watched them all as they sleep but Ellie had been acting strangely since we left the store. I never slept much, I would worry too much. I guess it was because of my mother died when I was young; I always felt I had to look out for everyone. Also, I was kinda fallin' for Ellie; she was different, saw things different. She saw them the way they were, no dreams of impossibilities or sunny days ever entered her mind. I could see the way she thought but never what she thought. If you can understand the difference between those things.

I continued to watch her; nothing was out of the ordinary. But then she turned over on her side. There was a small bulge in her pocket. I had stolen enough things to know it was a cell phone. It was small and neat; expensive. Ellie would never steal a phone, someone had to pay for the plan and it was worthless to us since we all stuck together.

I decided that I would a closer look at it. I made few sounds and poked her a few times; she never woke up, so I slid my hand in her pocket and pulled out the phone. I opened it up and went to the contact list.

My eyes bulged out and it took everything in me not to yell at her when I saw Rick Murray's name as the first and only name. What the hell was she doing?

I breathed deeply and tried to think. She has been acting weird ….maybe she's just stuck in something that she can't get out of…there were a lot of explanations but I had think of the worst one. She was a traitor. Maybe I could change her mind.

She stirred in her sleep and I slid the phone back in her pocket and went in the van to get some sleep.

I woke before anyone else and headed out to calm myself down before I faced Ellie. I had to think of a way to change her mind.

When I came back she was watching Craig fool around with a guitar and Emma and Sean were dancing with each other. They were clueless, but at least they were happy that way.

"It's weird isn't it?"I said and she jumped a little when I spoke, I must have startled her.

"What is?"She asked when she turned to me with a confused look on her face.



"It's weird that the people who supposedly live wasted lives with no meaning or purpose could have moments like these. So full of life and joy. I mean look at Cameron over there," I gestured to Sean with a shrug of my shoulder and she looked in that direction, "He's so happy right now, but usually he's just waiting for the next tragedy of difficulty to come along. Alex and Marco both have to face discrimination for being who they are, yet even they know when to let loose and have fun. Craig's always looking for the better side of a situation, so it's no wonder that he could start a night like this."

I watched her expressions change from the corner of my eye. She stared at me a bit; it looked like I was getting to her. Either that or she thought I was going completely crazy. Then she got this worried look on her face, almost like she knew I knew. Then she relaxed a bit, almost like she calmed herself down. Let she looked away and starred at the rest of the group; expressionless.

I heard a very quiet buzz come from her jeans and I knew it was her phone. She looked at me but I didn't flinch.

"Well, looks like I'll have to take a break from this. Nature isn't very patient." She said to me and then she left. I took a deep breath….this was way harder than I thought.

I still had no idea what she was doing, but hopefully I made a difference, for the better.

She returned a little bit later looking like she had been really shaken up only a few seconds ago. Her eyes were tinted red and I could see that they were bloodshot in the dimming light of the twilight sky. She had been crying, but the reason for that still evaded me.

"Well we're going to hit the sack." Sean said when he and Emma stopped dancing. They were so not going to sleep. I couldn't help but smile. Ellie came up to me as they left a smile playing at her lips as well.

"Yeah me too," I said to her, just barely keeping from cracking up. As soon as I saw her face in front of me, for the first time since I saw Rick's phone flash in my eyes, my expression changed I stop it from becoming cold, but just barely.

"Don't tell anyone what I said tonight. No one can find out that I have a sensitive side." I said trying to lighten myself up.

"You have many sides that we don't know about, don't you?" She said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah."I said failing at staying light.

After I hopped into the van and slammed the doors, everyone else went off to find a place to crash for the night. I watched Ellie from the tinted windows of the van. She went the slowest to the side of the Van and lied on the down on a patch of grass. She lied there, stiffly not even trying to fall asleep. As soon as everyone disappeared she stood up and crept into the woods.



I guess I hadn't gotten to her like I thought I had. Looked like plan B was my only option. I opened a plastic tool bin to on the side of the van and pulled out a small bottle of chloroform and a rag.

_Present……._

I silently opened the van doors and followed her. At first I thought she wasn't going to go through with it when she turned around but when she turned back and kept going I decided I had to act.

I grabbed her shoved the rag over her mouth and nose. She struggled at first but then fell limp in my arms. I picked her up and carried her to camp. I set her down gently against the tire of the van and waited for her to come to. When she did she started yelling at me right away.

"Jay? What the hell-!?" She yelled. I quickly shoved my hand over her mouth and whispered to her harshly.

"Hey! Either you shut up right now and explain what you're doing with a phone that has Rick Murray at the top of the contacts list or you can keep screaming and explain it to everyone!" I said.

Her yes went wide and she froze. I had never seen someone as afraid as she was in that instant.


End file.
